Modern mobile phones have evolved over recent years to the point where they now possess a broad range of capabilities. They are not only capable of placing and receiving mobile phone calls, multimedia messaging (MMS), and sending and receiving email, they can also access the Internet, are GPS-enabled, possess considerable processing power and large amounts of memory, and are equipped with high-resolution color liquid crystal displays capable of detecting touch input. As such, today's mobile phones are general purpose computing and telecommunication devices capable of running a multitude of applications. For example, modern mobile phones can run web browser, navigation system, media player and gaming applications.
Along with these enhanced capabilities has come a demand for larger displays to provide a richer user experience. Mobile phone displays have increased in size to the point where they can now consume almost the entire viewing surface of a phone. To increase the size of displays any further would require an increase in the size of the phones themselves. This is not desirable, as users want their mobile phone to fit comfortably in their hand or in a shirt or pants pocket.
Another limitation of modern mobile phones is that a user typically cannot use a phone's full capabilities while on a phone call. This is because, for example, a user cannot see a phone's display when the phone is held up to his or her ear. Separate earpieces, earbuds or wireless headsets may allow a user to view a mobile phone display and utilize “non-phone” functions while on a call, but these peripheral components have their disadvantages. A user needs to keep track of these additional components and wireless headsets must be charged prior to use. Further, some users simply do not like to wear headsets. As another option to view a display while making a call, a user can utilize a mobile phone's speakerphone mode. However, this mode often involves notably increasing the speaker volume. Thus, the privacy of the call is lost if anyone else is within hearing distance. Further, as the mobile phone speaker can be a more than a foot or two away from the user's ear, it may be more difficult to hear the speaker over any ambient noise.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mobile communications device that is sized for convenience and yet allows the user to utilize the full functionality of the device.